


You Never Know Who You'll Meet

by minoe



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Ambiguous/Open Ending, M/M, mentions of dojae, mentions of past yuil, no beta we die like men, slight doyu
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-28
Updated: 2020-03-28
Packaged: 2021-02-28 18:00:55
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,552
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23351344
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/minoe/pseuds/minoe
Summary: Bored out of his mind, Yuta spends his night on an app and reminiscing over things.-fun fact: title is tinder's catchphrase
Relationships: Lee Taeyong/Nakamoto Yuta
Comments: 6
Kudos: 44





	You Never Know Who You'll Meet

Yuta comfortably reclines on the chair, watching The Devil Wears Prada for the umpteenth time in his dimly lit room. He watches Anne Hathaway change in multiple outfits and smiles, opening a can of beer that’s on his side table. 

He mumbled the lines word for word and he wonders, slightly tuning out the movie, that this is such a nice evening. He switches back to the film and sees Meryl Streep give a snarky remark, making Yuta exhale out of his nose in approval as he rhythmically taps on his leather armrest, gazing back at the screen to the beer can, back to the TV and then to the beer. Okay, maybe this isn’t a good way to spend a good Saturday evening. 

_ Alone _ . 

He frowns, getting antsy and fishes his phone out of his pocket, skimming through his message history and wonders who he should text. Maybe he should call someone responsible and invite them to a bar? Like Doyoung? No, can’t do that, he’s probably busy with Jaehyun. Or maybe invite Johnny to his house and tell him to bring some alcohol over? Ugh, nah, Ten’s not gonna let him. 

He could call Jungwoo but the kid doesn’t have enough time to sleep since juggling with a part-time job during his fourth year of college. He sighs, looking over his contacts and groaning when he realizes that he, of all people, has no one to talk to. 

This usually doesn’t happen to him, during college everyone had time to hang out and go to a couple of bars but ever since some of them graduated, life has purposely gotten in the way of their hang outs to the point that his friends have resorted to greeting him happy birthday through crappy facebook messages, and personal texts. Once a joyous annual celebration of their lives that is now becoming a monotone greeting. To which he doesn’t mind, but god is it grating to see a copy-and-paste type of post on his timeline rather than something a real human being would take the time to write.

Maybe that’s why Yuta thinks he’s been living the good life so far. He’s met some of his close friends in highschool, which is the reason why he adores Johnny, Doyoung and Jungwoo. They ended up going to the same university, celebrating each other’s accomplishments when Johnny received a BA in Architecture, Doyoung in Management and of course, him in Interior Design.

He sighs, maybe he should just change the channel to HGTV and watch some houses be flipped. Maybe he’ll get a better kick watching people figure out what backsplash works with peach colored cupboards but its a saturday, and no one gets turnt on the show love or list it on a  _ fucking  _ saturday. okay, maybe except him. god, he groans inwardly, he sounds like doyoung and that man isn’t even an interior designer, he just appreciates the mundane.

He immediately turns off the forgotten tv, and weighs his chances on some cleaning but his hands wander to his laptop to look up some porn to take his mind off of things. Making himself comfortable, he leans on his couch and skims through the videos, alternating between looking at his phone and searching through the tags. 

Unbeknownst to him, his hand accidentally presses on the tinder app. The giant logo zooms up at his face and he stares at it for a while, trying to recall how he even has the app installed in the first place. Ten. Ever since he’s mentioned to the others that he’s broken up with his boyfriend, they’ve been on his case to find a new person. It’s not that he doesn’t want to find anyone, he’s tried going on dates multiple times but they don’t seem to work out to his favor. sometimes they’re odd and they don’t mesh well and by the end of the date, Yuta doesn’t seem to mind. He knows he can easily find someone to love. 

But tinder isn’t a place to find love and judging by how the night is going, yuta thinks that he’s going to have another date with his right hand tonight, and if this app could prevent that from happening, perusing through his matches wouldn’t hurt.

The app loads and it matches Yuta with a stranger. The profile picture is a photo of a man comfortably leaning on a yacht’s railing as he drinks a can of beer, the blue sea sparkling brightly in the background. The man is wearing a white, loose button-up shirt with his chest tattoo peeking through, and the brightest smile he’s seen. Underneath, is the name of said stranger attached, Jay Park. 

Yuta is a man with manners, so rather than immediately declining his first match because he’s put-off by the man’s arrogant aura, he looks further into his profile, curious to see if he’s wrong to immediately judge a book by it’s cover.

Yuta’s face reels in disgust as he searches through Jay’s profile; the photoset attached to the photos that Yuta’s seen are taken from the same day and location, all just in different poses. On the bottom of the photos states his age, the obvious and almost 10-year age gap difference between them ticks another one of Yuta’s dealbreakers, so he retires the idea of finding a match with him.

Before Yuta presses the button to go back a page to reject the match, he happens to gloss over Jay’s tinder description, which reads: 

**Jay Park, 32**

_ am not gay, dont kno how to fix option _

_ just here to maybe score some chicks _

😎😎😎 _ hmu if u a baddie _

Yuta inwardly cringes, swiftly swiping no. He can’t believe he matched with a heterosexual. Not even just a heterosexual, but a hypebeast straight.

Which is what he isn’t, far from it. But given his background, Yuta understands why anyone could immediately assume that he is.

Growing up, Yuta had always always known that he wasn't straight. He carried himself with an air of confidence, following his parents’ advice of being true to himself. 

So follow he did, and wholeheartedly joined his school’s soccer team. He loved being on the field, relishing the exhilarating feeling of being able to expertly maneuver a ball around another person. And of course,  _ winning _ .

Yuta would be lying if he said he didn’t like winning. He isn’t stupid. And after years of training and experience, winning games has become one of the things that makes him feel rewarded, fueling his love for the sport. And experiencing the last 3 minutes of a soccer game with a one point advantage gets his blood pumping. He genuinely loved the sport, and devoted almost half of his life to it. 

Which is no wonder why people automatically assumed his sexuality.

Charles Darwin could take on look at him and classify his phenotype as an honest to god heterosexual jock that sweats gatorade and emits axe body spray, but science isn’t faultless, the same way people end up having six toes or skin disease. Sometimes, It just happens. His hobbies were stereotypically labeled as manly, like watching sentai anime and playing soccer outside with his childhood friends. He’s had his fair share of dates with women, going as far as to having his first kiss with one in a playground at seven years old. 

Yuta’s jock status came with the idea of sports and scoring girls that it didn’t cross their minds that Yuta has been checking out his teammates sweaty figures as they pass by him in the locker room, their legs and back muscles flexing as scrub down their bodies with soap that has Yuta swallowing a lump in his throat. Appearances can be deceiving. His parents were so sure that he’d end up marrying a woman that when Yuta came out to them as bisexual, it took them a whole week to processes it. 

But that was then and this is now, his parents have relaxed from the initial shock and are now fully supportive of his decisions. Momoka goes as far as giving him a package all the way from Japan to South Korea with a vibrating dildo. He called to yell at her once he opened the box in his old dorm, fuming red at the implications but Momoka calmingly and innocently told him that it’s an act of benevolence. 

Once he’s calmed down, Momoka takes her time to teach him how to maneuver the settings on the piece of machinery, his eyes lighting up at how the dildo gradually speeds up and slows down, curiosity peeking through as Momoka rambles on and on about how good and beneficial masturbation is and how she the same brand of dildo she has at home (“I didn’t know what color you’d like so I chose the safest one!”) has brought her to climax multiple times. 

Embarrased beyond belief, Yuta interrupts her for one final time, genuinely thanking her for the support as he tries to stop her from going off on another tangent about sex positivity and her crazy adventures and hangs up. 

A soft knock on his door forces him to swiftly shove the package underneath his bed and begrudgingly open his bedroom door. There, Yuta faces his roommate, Doyoung, with pink cheeks and shifty eyes. Yuta looks at him, as he tries to act normal but Doyoung pushes his chest accusingly, and reprimands him about yelling his sexual endeavors in the middle of the night. 

Yuta’s cheeks turned red, but a part of him loves seeing Doyoung flustered and squealing, so he flutters his eyes, drops his voice a couple of octaves and looks at him with bedroom eyes, provoking the younger male. Doyoung’s knuckles turn white from balling his fists, nails digging into his skin as he tries to steel himself in front of Yuta. Releasing a loud exhale, Doyoung gives Yuta one last glare before turning around and giving him the finger. The older of the two yells out good night and slams the door for good measure. 

Somehow, Yuta’s little tizz with Doyoung that night got him excited. He can feel himself buzzing with his dick half-hard in his pajamas. Yuta has a good relationship with Doyoung, they work well, which is why they’ve accepted their living space, but that doesn't mean they don't dare go under each other’s skin. And everytime he goes head to head with the other boy, he’s always buzzing with excitement. The other boy’s words seem to awaken something in him that simmers deep in his skin and now he can’t wait to use the dildo and maybe moan loud enough to piss Doyoung off in the process.

And it did piss Doyoung off, not only that, they found a way to release each other’s unresolved anger. 

(But that’s another story to tell.)

Ultimately after that, Yuta learns that he is a switch. 

Doyoung would proudly brag to their friends that he’s partially responsible for that when he was single and less of a prude, but they’ve laid ground rules about what things to spill now that Doyoung’s disgustingly in love with Jaehyun.

It released tension between them during excruciating moments in college and after multiple incidents, they realized how completely incompatible they were during their little stunt. Sometimes they would have sex and Doyoung would grill Yuta for not flipping the toilet seat cover up. Basically, they were roommates and in the end, good friends.

Yuta likes to think of his escapades with Doyoung as a prelude. As a drunken Johnny would eloquently put it during a rough night at the bar while reminiscing over their college years, “it helped him build the foundation to his homosexual sexcapades.” Which did result to a lot of hookups after Doyoung decided to take a two-semester internship that 

Although, Doyoung would still bring up how much of a bottom he was during college just to piss him off. 

Yuta may not look like it, but he is and he’s proud of it. Still, he thinks that maybe tinder is messing with him for matching him with that kind of man. Yuta lets go of the previous match-mishap and checks out the other man he’s matched with. 

The person’s avatar is a simple photo of another man with black hair and a sweet smile with a background of him sitting in an airplane seat. The angle makes him look much like a child and Yuta can’t help but wonder at how old the man in the photo is.

So he investigates, pressing onto the man’s avatar to open his page. His gut feeling is telling him that he’s seen this person’s face before while swiping through another photo. This time the man is looking at the camera with piercing eyes while wearing only a leather jacket and some skinny jeans on, behind him are the lights and a beautiful skyline.

Yuta can’t help but be impressed, not just at the photo but also the man’s beauty. The “come hither” look that he’s got on does wonders to Yuta, he’d love to see that chest in person, preferably on top of him. He swipes one last time through the man’s photoset, and sees a photo of him wearing round-glasses with brown windswept hair. The man looks good in everything and it baffles Yuta. It’s finally come to him, he thinks he looks like a Japanese actress named Ishihara Satomi. Which is a compliment because she’s beautiful and talented to boot. Now he really needs to know who this man is.

Written in big, bold letters:  **_Dong Sicheng_ ** **, _23_** it says. And he’s only two years younger than Yuta too. Underneath the name are a bunch of information, height, weight, sexual preference, and lastly, his relationship status: 

_ TAKEN (do not message me, I won’t reply).  _

Yuta winces at the message. The man could’ve been perfect for him. But congratulates Sicheng and the man he’s in love with nonetheless. He immediately exits out of the man’s profile and swipes left. There’s no need to dwell on what’s done. 

The loading screen takes a little longer to find another match, Yuta taps on the screen as he waits for another person, but his mind can’t help but drift to his past relationship.

If asked the question whether or not Yuta wanted to break up. He’d say no in a heartbeat. They were in love, so in love that people thought that they were going to get married, but sometimes futures get in the way. Yuta’s future was in California while Taeil’s was in South Korea. South Korea needed Taeil, needed his talent, his voice and his image and Yuta wouldn’t get in the way of his partner’s happiness. That’s why they broke up amicably and quietly.

Three weeks before him leaving, Taeil slowly started packing up his things in suitcases. Everytime Yuta would try to lend a hand, he’d shut him up and distract him, sometimes going as far as putting on Ghibli films. During the duration of the movie, Taeil would pack up things in his room, secretly moving Yuta’s clothes to the empty space to where he used to be so that Yuta wouldn’t feel like he’s gone. Yuta discovered that Taeil only worked during the times that he’s distracted and he would kick him out of their room, purposely choosing movies that ended quickly just to deter Taeil from leaving. 

Yuta didn’t want Taeil to leave him. But he doesn’t want to hold him back. Yuta knew that Taeil deserves this. They’ve talked about his dreams, in teaching younger singers and in performing on his country’s stage, at home with his parents cheering him on in person rather than seeing a three minute-clip on facebook. 

When the day came, Yuta woke up with the worst headache because he cried in his sleep from the night before. But he powered through the day, because he wouldn’t miss anything in the world. 

Pretending like everything’s the same, Yuta kisses Taeil’s forehead to wake him up, and gives Taeil breakfast in bed, to which Taeil points out that this isn’t their normal routine. Yuta ignores the comment and goes on about the housework like it's still a lazy Sunday that they’re having while Taeil takes a shower to get ready for the airport. 

They don’t talk about it until Yuta parks the car in front of the international departure gate of the airport, hands gripping tightly on the steering wheel as he fights the urge to cry in front of Taeil. But Taeil knows, he always knows what Yuta’s thinking. He’s been Yuta’s rock for almost three years, ever since they met during Yuta’s second year in college. So Taeil dries his tears, gently taking Yuta’s hands off of the steering wheel and softly kisses Yuta’s knuckles, before thanking him and silently kissing him goodbye. They never got to talk about it properly. 

The door clicks shut and Taeil does not spare him a glance. Yuta watches Taeil’s retreating back until he fades inside the airport and starts the engine.

That’s when Yuta knows he's got his answer. 

Days turned into months, months turned into years, but the pain still lingers. Memories crash into him like a wave, and there were moments when Yuta would relentlessly replay the events in his head, agonizingly examining the ways he could have fixed their happy yet broken relationship, into something less broken, maybe less heart wrenching. Something that still could have existed now and more  _ tangible  _ than a bitter end. 

That’s when Yuta knows that he’s drowning. Drowning in memories of Taeil, unable to swim in treacherous waters that's littered with only his presence. He knows he needs to move on, not think about Taeil and his beautiful voice. Hell, even Taeil apologized, but that doesn't stop Yuta from being sentimental about their relationship.

He’s slightly petty, but that doesn’t stop Yuta from asking Taeil to get him those personally hand-signed TVXQ albums.

The next profile loads up that makes Yuta raise an eyebrow. It’s a photo of a shark, a stuffed toy’s face, covering the whole photo. 

Since the boom of the app, people have tried to figure out how to catch clickbait worthy photos and one of those tricks are by posting silly photos of themselves. Yuta guesses this is something another person would do to lower people’s defenses. 

Posting a completely innocent photo on an app that’s usually associated with sex. Yuta thinks that either the person is innocent or a grade-A weirdo. And so far, he’s leaning towards the latter.

That doesn’t mean he didn’t take the bait. Unable to mask his curiosity, Yuta swipes through the photoset and lands on the second photo that makes him do a double take. The photo features an actual human being this time, a man with brown locks wearing a red and blue bandana around his forehead while donning a matching red and blue striped shirt. 

Two things come to Yuta’s mind: one, he would be lying to himself if he said that he isn’t attracted; this man is too attractive for words. Two, he’s too unreal that he’s probably catfishing on this app. Yuta inspects the second photo once again, thinking to himself that no mere man could look that photogenic on an apple front camera. it just isn’t possible. 

Yuta swipes to the third and final photo; it's another selfie of the same man, but this time he’s decked out in a different outfit and a different hair color. His brown locks are replaced with windswept hair in an unnaturally vibrant shade of red. The stranger is wearing make-up: a subtle shade of brown eyeshadow that emphasizes his sharp eyes and hint of lipgloss to accentuate his lips. His striking features make him look like he came out of a Final Fantasy game. And  _ fuck,  _ the guy has an eyebrow slit that just screams  _ predatory _ . 

All Yuta could do was gape at the figure in his phone. Once again he shouldn’t have judged. He immediately mentally revokes all of the condescending comments he’s made for the past two minutes. The guy he just matched with is an absolute find. His photos don’t have a funny 3-photo story but god is he  _ hot  _ and isn’t that enough for a tinder match?

Yuta stares at the man’s bio, it's straight to the point and nothing out of the ordinary just like the other match Yuta had before, but for some reason this man one doesn’t strike him as sarcastic. All it says:

**Taeyong, 25**

_ Gay,  _

_ Just made this for fun. _

_ Gets tests every time. _

_ Switch, but I mainly top. _

Yuta leans on his headrest, unable to formulate the words. He does a double-take and  _ fuck _ , the profile is real. He can’t believe he matched with a guy his age who has the same preferences as him and looks like that. But, this “Taeyong” guy could be catchfishing and he can’t wait to find out, because in the end, this could either be an amazing lay or the funniest conversation he’d have with his friends.

Yuta screenshots the photos just in case the catfishing stuff happens and hopes that he could find the original owner of the photo on instagram later. He swipes right.

Here goes nothing.

  
  


**Author's Note:**

> is it over? who knows?  
> 'cause i dont lol  
> this fic was written during the end of 2019 when yuta was my only source of happiness  
> (yuta still is and im still sad but getting better! i'll leave this fic closed for now, but since im at home for the most part, i might write a part two?)
> 
> likes and comments are welcomed!  
> tell me if i made any grammatical mistakes, english isnt my first language and i wrote this on the notes app!  
> come scream at me on twitter: yutaphrodite


End file.
